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With a sigh, she dropped the phone on the bed, only to pick it up moments later to call Rane She was disappointed when his answering ht now Leave your naet back to you as soon as I can”

“Rane, hello? Please pick up if you’re there”

When there was no answer, she hung up, only to call back a second time just to hear the sound of his voice on the machine, and then she went back to bed and cried herself to sleep

It was early afternoon when she woke again She took a quick shower, dressed, checked out of the hotel, and drove ho at a strip of yellow police tape fluttering frohbors ht She still couldn’t believe it hadn’t been soht for her in the kitchen, thepaper spread out on the table in front of hiht away Wishing she could change the past served no purpose

Getting out of the car, she stooped to pick up the newspaper, then unlocked the door and went inside The house was as she had left it, except that now every surface appeared to be covered with black fingerprint powder

After tossing her keys, the paper, her suitcase, and her handbag on the sofa, she went into the kitchen and filled a pail with hot soapy water She pulled an apron from one of the drawers and slipped it over her head, then pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and began to wash the black powder fro to do to occupy her mind

She was cleaning the top of her mother’s desk when she suddenly recalled her father’s last words, soloves into the pail, Savanah dried her hands on her apron, then walked down the hall to her father’s office

She paused outside the door She had never entered his work space uninvited; her father had respected her privacy, as well

Blinking back a rush of tears, she stepped across the threshold The furniture in here had also been dusted with fingerprint powder, leaving a fine black residue on the oak file cabinet, her father’s old-fashioned rolltop desk, the bookshelves, and his keyboard

Savanah blew out a sigh as she looked around Whoever had invaded their hoeance Books had been pulled from the shelves and tossed on the floor A photo of her parents, taken on their wedding day, had been knocked off its custoe to cry, she picked it up and put it back where it belonged The top two drawers in the file cabinet, always locked, had been forced open Her father’s desk had practically been turned inside out All the drawers had been opened, the middle one had been removed, its contents strewn on the floor Had the intruder been searching for the envelope her fathera deep breath, she re it on the floor, she peered into the opening, wondering if the envelope was still there Reaching inside, she ran her fingertips over the wood A ers encountered so it free, she stared at the long white envelope Her name was scrawled across the front

Savanah stared at it for severalit Inside, she found a folded sheet of flowered stationery that had belonged to her iven it to her ether

With treers, Savanah unfolded the letter It was dated a month after her father’s car accident, and written in his own bold hand